


Three Jackets and Dyed Hair

by TheCaptainOfThisFleet



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Choi San is a Panicked Gay, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, No Smut, Rated T for Language and San Being Thirsty, Song Mingi is Confident, Woosang are out for world domination
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:46:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23492668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCaptainOfThisFleet/pseuds/TheCaptainOfThisFleet
Summary: When San started to notice a tall, handsome, and especially well dressed man at his faculty building, he knew he would fall for him. What can he say, he's a fashion design major, appreciating pretty clothing is basically his life at this point. He just didn't think he'd actually fall for the person in said pretty clothing, too. Or that said person is such a big dork.Or: Mingi is a confident gay. San... isn't.
Relationships: Background Jeong Yunho/Park Seonghwa, Choi San/Song Mingi
Comments: 9
Kudos: 133





	Three Jackets and Dyed Hair

San stormed into Hongjoong's dorm room, yelling loudly „I'm in love!“

Hongjoong wasn't there to scold him, and his cartoon animation major room mate wasn't there to roll his eyes at him either. Jongho sat on Hongjoong's bed, an expensive looking camera in his lap and a stack of books next to him.

„Is it still that dude you met once when you brought Hongjoongie-hyung his earphones?“ Jongho asked without even looking up from where he was changing the camera's settings.

„I'm over Changbin,“ San announced. „Have been for the past month, thanks for noticing. No, I am talking about this guy I saw while I was on my back from the faculty building. I'm sure it's illegal to be looking actually good while wearing three jackets at the same time.“

„I don't know, hyung, sounds like an idiot to me. It's like five hundred degrees outside,“ Jongho answered. It was five hundred degrees outside, but that wasn't the point. The point was that San was in love.

„Who am I to judge his choices in fashion,“ San said dramatically, flinging his arms out. If he got bored of fashion design, he could still become an acting major like Jongho. He did have the flair for it.

„You judge my fashion choices constantly.“

„That's because you wear a grey hoodie and the same leather jacket every day,“ San shot back. Jongho's leather jacket hung on Hongjoong's chair, and Jongho was wearing a black hoodie instead of a grey one, but his point was still valid. Hongjoong at least enjoyed dressing up.

„I look good in grey and my leather jacket?“

„Every. Day. Jongho.“

Jongho huffed and flipped a page without taking his eyes off San.

„Excuse me for not taking fashion advice from someone who got himself banned from the university book store for literally wearing a trash bag as a shirt.“

„That was one time, and it was because Yunho tricked me into it.“ He hadn't even been banned because of the trash bag shirt, that he had only worn because Yunho knew what buttons to push to make San do almost anything. It had been because he had knocked over a display of expensive pens as he tried to dive out of the point of view of his crush at the time. He had not been successful.

„Sure it is,“ Jongho said, eyes falling back on his photography textbook, ending the conversation. Not that San was mad about it, he had to look up Mystery Guy's Instagram anyway.

That's where Hongjoong found him later, San lying on his bed next to Jongho, who was still completely focused on his exposure in photography book, browsing Instagram, but not finding a whiff of the dude he had seen in the library. To be fair, he didn't know where to start, since he didn't know the guy's name or faculty, or anything aside of that he was tall, hot, and well dressed.

„Hello, people who do not live here, to what do I owe the pleasure?“ the oldest member and unofficial leader of their small friend group asked.

„Hi, hyung,“ Jongho greeted him, like the cute baby he was. „Sannie-hyung is in love.“  
„Changbinnie?“ Hongjoong asked. San thought he should start announcing the endings of his crushes as he did the beginnings of them, or else his friends would never be up to date. At least Yunho knew that he was over his brief crush on Changbin. Yunho was a real friend, not like these two fakes.

„No, he was like twice as tall as Changbin,“ San supplied, cursing himself for only catching a glimpse at the dude. There were so many people on their campus, how would he ever be able to find him without even knowing his name or what faculty he was studying in.

„Didn't know tall people were your type,“ Hongjoong threw in, pushing his materials under the bed and joining San. Jongho shuffled to the foot of the bed as to not be buried underneath Hongjoong's frame, even short as he was.

„He has terrible fashion sense,“ Jongho supplied, and San was so close to kicking him, maknae status and hyung-favourite be damned. Hongjoong lifted an eyebrow.

„It's only terrible if he doesn't look good, which, unfortunately, he does. Even in three jackets.“

„Three jackets? It's like five hundred degrees outside, no one can look good sweating through three jackets,“ Hongjoong threw in, and San was like 80% sure he and Jongho actually shared braincells. Maybe they got them from the same cloud service that was supplying them, and they were interchangeable.

„That's what I said.“

### *

College life was stressful, so San mostly forgot about Mystery Guy again, until he saw him two weeks later. He wasn't wearing three jackets this time, but a sleeveless white shirt tugged into pale jeans, skin almost glowing in the golden sunlight. San might be drooling.

The dude was accompanied by another, smaller than him, but taller than San, wearing a black and red striped sweatshirt with white doves on it and multiple chokers and an actual chain around his neck. San hadn't known that eboys actually went outdoors like that, but it fit him. They were discussing something San couldn't hear from where he was standing frozen in the doorway to the Student Union Building. They were walking straight towards him and stopped when he didn't move away.

„Excuse me, but you're blocking the door,“ the eboy said. He was insanely handsome too, and the world wasn't fair. San stuttered an apology and moved away. Mystery Guy looked at him with a nonchalant expression and San blushed in turn, before they entered the building.

Even when he had promised Yunho to sit in on his dance practice with his club, he messaged him that he couldn't make it. His heart couldn't take the possibility of encountering Mystery Guy twice a day. Not when he was dressed like that.

 _:( I wnted to introducce u to my bf tday!_ was Yunho's answer, followed by another message reading _well mayybe next time gtg._

San hadn't met Yunho's boyfriend yet, even when Yunho had been dating him since the beginning of spring semester. But if that relationship had prevailed during summer vacation, it would hold for a few more weeks until San got over his crush.

*

He did not get over his crush, even a few weeks later. It was late October now, and San had come to the conclusion that Mystery Guy had likely transferred from another university for the fall semester, because there was no way that San had never seen him before but kept running into him now at every turn. He still had no idea about the other's identity, but he wasn't enough of a creep to take a photo of him without permission, and he was too intimidated to ask for the other's photo, or name, or major.

Mystery Guy was walking down the stairs from San's faculty building, hands in his pockets, wearing a black button up shirt, dark blue slacks and a dark blue coat. He must have caught San staring at his dyed hair (still brown, but with turquoise, green and even purple in it), because he winked at him as he passed, and maybe San turned bright red.

He was still tomato red when he reached his Costume Design class that he shared with Jongho this semester, and Jongho, like the perceptive little shit he was, immediately caught onto San's state and the reason for it.

„Spill it,“ he said before San even got the chance to sit down and hide his face behind his coursebook. San spluttered a bit. Two girls a few rows down giggled at his less than eloquent appearance. Maybe it was because he was dressed like he came straight from the 70's, complete with retro glasses, suspenders and a handkerchief tied around his neck.

„He dyed his hair,“ San whispered. „And it looks so good!“

Jongho hummed. „Any clue yet as to what he studies?“

„No idea. I keep seeing him around our faculty, though. That narrows it down I guess. You don't happen to know him, do you?“

„Considering how all I know about him is „twice as tall as Changbin-ssi“, who I never met by the way so I don't know how tall or short he is, and that he wears three jackets regardless of weather, no, I don't know him.“

„Don't be mean, I'm in love,“ San complained before the teacher started her presentation on costume design for musical theatre.

*

San's problem was, that he was not a confident person. Or, he was confident, but not confident at flirting. He liked to pretend to be, but he really wasn't. One time, he had tried to psych Hongjoong out by leaning in as if to kiss his cheek, only regret every life choice that brought him into this situation since birth, because Hongjoong just turned around and had wrapped his arm around San's neck. Needless to say, his little panicked gay heart yeeted out of there, and he had been at the receiving end of Yunho's goading for two weeks straight. Yunho had kissed him on the cheek out of nowhere once, and San had been a blushing mess for the better part of twenty minutes. And he didn't even have any particular interest in either Hongjoong or Yunho. The only person he knew that was as bad (or even worse) than him was Jongho.

So, when he was faced with Mystery Guy looking straight at him, one eyebrow raised, smirk on his face, asking if San wanted a picture because it would last longer, it was to the surprise of absolutely no one that his brain produced a blue screen. He just stood there, staring. He may have said something like „uuuuuuh“ before Jongho talked over him, apologizing for his hyung's rude behaviour. Mystery Guy's voice was way deeper than what San had thought.

„Yah,“ someone yelled across the courtyard. Mystery guys friend, the eboy from a while ago, stood there, waving at them. He wore a white knitted sweater, a grey leather jacket and a black face mask, but San knew it was him.

„We're going to be late if you continue flirting with that poor boy!“

Mystery Guy laughed and jogged over to his friend, wrapping his arm around his shoulders, leaning way closer than necessary to whisper something in the other's ear. The other swatted at Mystery Guy's chest, and they entered the library building. San could see a claim when one was made. Jongho frowned next to him.

„Wasn't that...“ he started, but when he looked at San, who was down over the prospect of Mystery Guy having a boyfriend, refrained. „Nevermind, I think I confused him for someone else.“

*

The sad thing about the whole ordeal was, that San would've gotten pretty easily over his hurt feelings, if it hadn't been for the fact that he kept seeing Mystery Guy and his boyfriend constantly. They suddenly were everywhere, which made getting over Mystery Guy considerably harder. Especially considering how good the two of them always looked.

San was glowering at his lunch from his table corner next to Jongho.

„Hyung, please just tell him, this is getting sad to watch,“ Jongho said, and San lifted his head. But the younger hadn't spoken to him, but to Yunho, who was giggling like a madman.

„Tell who what?“ San asked, joining the conversation again. His eyes only just so drifted past Mystery Guy where he was sitting three tables away from them, accompanied by his boyfriend and a few other students surrounding them, apparently deep in conversation. His hair was back to brown. San missed the turquoise. It had looked incredible.

„But it's so funny to watch,“ Yunho complained.

„Yunho, don't be a meany,“ Hongjoong interfered from Jongho's other side. San hadn't even noticed that his hyung had joined them.

„And I repeat, tell who what? What is getting sad?“ San asked, but all three of them completely ignored him as Jongho and Hongjoong stared Yunho down until the tallest surrendered.

„Okay, fine! You two always manage to be a killjoy, Jesus,“ Yunho finally complained, sighing dramatically as he pulled out his phone, texting someone.

„I'm confused,“ San said, and finally, Yunho acknowledged him.

„I'm texting Seonghwa-hyung to come join us for a bit and meet you. You're the only one that hasn't met him yet, you know?“ Yunho explained, and San perked up. Yunho had been gushing about Seonghwa for so long now, and San was genuinely curious about his friend's boyfriend.

Three tables behind them, Mystery Guy's boyfriend lifted his head, looking around. Hongjoong waved at him. The guy extracted himself from the conversation, strolling past the tables in between and settled next to Yunho like this wasn't life-changing for San. That the person he had assumed to be Mystery Guy's boyfriend was actually Yunho's Seonghwa-hyung. San's mouth was open until Yunho pressed a kiss to the man's cheek, giggling out a „hey babe“. Seonghwa was once again dressed incredibly, red button up and black jacket, a broad leather choker around his neck.

„Thank you for rescuing me,“ Seonghwa said with a smile. „Yeosang wouldn't stop goading Mingi on about how Mingi absolutely can't accurately calculate when someone would die of natural causes, and frankly, I do not want to know if he can.“

„That sounds like morbid lunch conversation,“ Jongho said, frowning.

„Tell me about it,“ Seonghwa sighed before he directed his gaze at San, who barely was able to shut his mouth.

„Hi, I'm Seonghwa,“ Seonghwa said with a light smile. „I assume you're San?“

„I- Uh- I mean, yes I am,“ San said, head already burning up again. Jongho snorted next to him. Little shit. San tried to kick him, but the leg of a chair was in the way in an instant-karma moment.

„It's nice to meet you. Yunho told me you're a fashion design major?“ San nodded, searching for words to not come off like a complete idiot. He would so get back to Yunho for that stunt. The other better sleep with one eye open, San owned very sharp pairs of scissors.

„Hyung, if you're not coming back, can I have your fries?“ one of Seonghwa's friends yelled. It didn't sound like Mystery Guy.

„Don't you dare!“ Seonghwa called back, but with a grin.

„You're aware your food will be gone when you get back?“ Yunho asked with a smile. He looked smitten, and San, who wasn't as heartbroken any more, grinned at his friend's obvious happiness. He was glad Yunho was so happy with Seonghwa. He still had to pay for leading San on like this.

„Yeosang probably already inhaled all of it.“

*

„I think for eggs, it would work better if we constructed a small aircraft instead of a drone. I don't think this baby could handle the recoil,“ someone said just when San entered Seonghwa's dorm room behind the older. Since Yunho had introduced him, and San actually got to hang out with Seonghwa, he quickly came to love the older and his tender and soft personality.

Inside the dorm, chaos reigned. It was a regular two-bed dorm room two floors below the one Yunho and San shared, but the mattress of one bed was stacked on the other and two men were bowed low over several plans and what looked like a Lego explosion on the other. And a box full of eggs. It looked like they had installed a piece of wood at the bed base instead of the wooden slats the beds were usually equipped with.

„I'd have to recalculate the force needed to use them as projectile, but not break them at launch anyway,“ the other answered, weighing one of the eggs in his hand. Seonghwa pulled off his shoes, and picked up the strewn around jackets like this was a normal occurrence. San felt like he accidentally stumbled into the lair of a supervillain, even when the man with the eggs was wearing the cutest pink and turquoise striped sweater in existence.

„Hey hyung. Do you think we would be able to get some dry ice from the chemistry faculty?“ the first one asked, looking up from the plans of apparent world domination the two were working on. He was wearing a purple knitted jacket and sweatpants, and his hair was in a disarray. San assumed the two of them had been sitting over their plans for quite a while.

„The less I know the less I can tell the police when you kill someone,“ Seonghwa said in a nonchalant way. Maybe the two were acting majors like Jongho and were revising for something? Seonghwa didn't seem particularly bothered by them, so they couldn't be serious, right? Then, the one in the knitted jacket continued

„You're right, we should try a vacuum bazooka first. They're constructed for lightweight projectiles, and not illegal like dry ice bombs.“

The other looked curiously at San, momentarily forgetting the drone in his hands. His hair looked soft, and there was a red birthmark next to his eye.

„I'm San,“ San offered. „I'm a friend of Yunho?“

„No one will believe you,“ the one with the birthmark said ominously. „If you tell them, they're going to think you're insane.“

„Yeosang, don't be so mean to Sannie,“ Seonghwa chastised as he walked past the two to open the window. Yeosang grinned up at him. „Also, please don't use these eggs for anything else than cooking.“

„Of course, hyung, we're just weighing them. Do you maybe know how much force the egg membrane can withstand?“

„You'd have to ask someone from the life science faculty. Now don't be rude, Wooyoung, introduce yourself.“

Wooyoung, as the one in the knitted jacket was called, fixed his gaze back on San, grinning like an insane scientists.

„I'm Wooyoung, defence system engineering sophomore,“ Wooyoung said. He actually was an evil scientists. „This's Yeosang, aerospace engineering sophomore. We're trying to launch raw eggs at the Fine Arts Building.“

„I am a fine arts major,“ San said unintelligently, blinking rapidly at the eggs Wooyoung was holding. Seonghwa's friends were insane.

„Another one?“ Wooyoung exclaimed, whipping around to stare accusingly at Seonghwa. „Hyung, you already got three friends in the fine arts faculty, why did you need another one?“ Then, he moved back to look at San, squinting. Seonghwa behind him rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders.

„Are your classes in the Goonja Building?“

„Yes?“

„Then I'd advice you to always duck when you're outdoors, because we're going to egg you otherwise.“

„We take no prisoners,“ Yeosang added. „You get egged or die.“

Seonghwa sighed again, patting Yeosang's head as if he was a child and not a grown man threatening San with death by eggs. Yeosang's face lit up.

„Don't be overdramatic, you don't even know if you'll be able to use raw eggs as projectiles.“

*

San always ducked when he left his faculty building, but for weeks, no eggs came flying his way. But one of these days, the two engineering majors would get the hang off using eggs as projectiles, and San would be prepared.

Mystery Guy, who he now knew was called Mingi, watched him scurry away from the buildings entrance with his head pulled deep between his shoulders.

„What're you doing?“ he asked, and San was too busy searching the sky for an unidentified aircraft to be speechless or stutter. He had gotten over most of his gay panic anyway since he had been introduced to Mingi. Mingi was too big of a dork for San to be really that nervous about talking to him. As long as Mingi didn't start flirting with San, everything was a-okay.

„Yeosang and Wooyoung threatened me with an untimely death by eggs, and now I fear for my life,“ he complained before straightening a bit. Mingi was wearing black ripped jeans and a button up with vertical black and white stripes. San tried not to stare at where he hadn't buttoned up his shirt all the way. Mingi snorted and fell into step at San's side. San didn't know what to do with the information that Mingi had apparently been waiting for him.

„They've been trying to build that since they were freshmen,“ Mingi said. „But the size they'd need the aircraft to successfully launch chicken eggs is not allowed on campus grounds, so you're save.“

„Why're you walking with me then instead of doing what you came to do at my faculty?“ San shot back. He could be mistaken, but he thought Mingi actually blushed. He probably was mistaken.

„Well, I know that they did achieve to build an aircraft launching quail eggs, so I'd rather be safe than sorry.“

„Excuse me, they have what?“ San spluttered, stopping dead in his tracks. Mingi laughed.

„It's okay, it already got confiscated because they're idiots. Don't know how to hide their illegal armed aircraft.“

„That doesn't change that you're still walking along with me instead of doing whatever you came to do at my faculty,“ San repeated. Mingi grinned easily, and San looked at the ground to avoid the wink he knew Mingi was sending his way.

„That's because I didn't have anything to do at your faculty. Wooyoung asked me to give you this.“

Mingi stopped to rustle around his bag, producing a crumpled piece of paper that he presented like it was something precious. San took it, suspicious. For all he knew, the paper could explode the second he grabbed it.

„What does it say?“ San asked, flattening the sheet of paper that was obviously ripped straight out of a notepad. Mingi shrugged. Most of the back was covered in sketches for something San couldn't discern. On the front, there was a small knife drawn into the upper right corner.

„Didn't make sense to me.“

The first few lines were crossed out, and the rest read „If you fuck this up, no one will ever know what happened to you. Watch your back“ with a smiley face on the bottom. To San, it made perfect sense, even when he didn't understand how Wooyoung came to know. Who had ratted his crush out to the engineering major? Had he told Mingi? He hadn't, right? Because the note hadn't made sense to Mingi.

„Yeosang asked me to tell you that he knows where you sleep and that he's not afraid to commit a felony. I don't know what crime you committed, but you're fucked bro.“

„I didn't commit any crime,“ San said. At least he hadn't yet, and he didn't plan on it either. If he told Seonghwa that Wooyoung and Yeosang were threatening him with murder, could the older keep the two from doing so? Or would Seonghwa say he deserved it, should he “fuck this up”?

„Did you hit on Seonghwa-hyung? Because last semester, someone asked him to be kind of his trophy wife because Seonghwa-hyung's so pretty, and when Seonghwa-hyung said no thanks, that dude got so insulting and said something like how all Seonghwa-hyung's good for...“ Mingi stopped himself, frowning. „He said some real messed up shit, and when Yeosang found out... Let's just say the dude never even dared to look at Seonghwa-hyung again.“

„From what I can see, serves him right,“ San said. He definitely didn't want to know what had happened to that dude, not when he had already been threatened when he hadn't even said a word to Mingi yet about any kind of romantic idea. He definitely didn't want to end up on the engineers' bad side.

„Oh, it did. Bitchass,“ Mingi agreed, nodding.

*

Even when San now knew who Mingi was (and Mingi knew who San was, which was kind of mind boggling if one asked him), he still didn't know the other's major. He assumed it was an engineering one too, just because whenever he met Mingi, he wasn't far from either Wooyoung or Yeosang (or Seonghwa, but Mingi didn't strike him as the teacher type).

„I don't know how you were admitted for the engineering program when you are this bad at maths,“ Mingi said bowed over one of Wooyoung's construction plans, a pen stuck behind each of his ears.

„I didn't ask you to check my shit for you to judge me,“ Wooyoung complained, waving at San who had just entered the library to get some books for his Fashion Marketing class. He could already tell he wouldn't be able to leave the library for at least an hour now, so he trudged over where the three engineers were sat. Yeosang pretended not to know Wooyoung or Mingi, but grinned at San, shoving over his stuff to make room at the cramped table.

„What're you guys doing?“ San asked as he settled next to Yeosang. Wooyoung rolled his eyes at Mingi's overly dramatic sigh.

„Wooyoung's an idiot that can't add together three and five,“ Yeosang supplied, picking at a fraying corner of his coursebook. He once again wore an overly cute sweater, this time in pastel pinks, and San was pretty sure it was all just to avoid suspicion.

„That's because your handwriting is terrible and I couldn't tell what numbers I was supposed to work with!“ Wooyoung complained loudly, immediately getting shushed by the students at the next table.

„But Mingi's also an idiot,” San threw in.

„Yes, but this idiot knows numbers, which makes him smarter than Wooyoung,“ Mingi said, sticking out his tongue at Wooyoung and winking at San at the same time before returning to the chicken scratch at the side of the plan, erasing one after another. San didn't particularly get what was going on, so he took a peek at Yeosang's laptop. He didn't know anything about thermodynamics either.

„I'll never ask you for anything ever again,“ Wooyoung huffed out, voice much more quiet now.

„Oh thank god, that would mean I could actually do my studies instead of having to number check for you,“ Mingi shot back without even looking up. From what San could see, he was scribbling down more letters than numbers. „You should really revisit the classes I know you had on missile design. I'm sure there's a very useful table of calculations somewhere that would make your life a lot easier. And mine too.“

„If you ever need someone to juggle your numbers, Mingi's your man,“ Yeosang offered as he typed away at his report on thermodynamics.

„I'm going to leave you to your calculations then, I just needed to get a few books for an assignment anyway.“

Yeosang nodded, waving him off. Wooyoung groaned when Mingi yet again erased a whole portion of his calculations, redoing them. As San was walking away, he heard Mingi grumble „What the hell would you guys do if I wasn't a maths major, huh?“

Huh. He hadn't pegged Mingi to be that good in maths. Good to know.

*

San was honest enough to admit that he had mostly crushed on Mingi because of his clothes. He knew many students from all over the university, and many students dressed in whatever was at the front of the closet, so actually hanging out with someone who put a thought into his outfits was a big plus in his books. The problem was that Mingi as a person was actually pretty fun to hang out with too.

He was an overdoer, that much San had learned the first time he had met Mingi in a bigger group environment with their other friends. He was loud, he was overly dramatic and he made very dumb jokes that only ever Seonghwa laughed at, because Seonghwa was a good hyung and always supported them. He also was overly affectionate, pecking everyone's cheeks (even Jongho's, who had screamed like he was being slaughtered), hugging and cuddling and holding hands with everyone in reach. It took some time for San to get used to someone just grabbing his hand constantly and without warning.

Usually, Mingi was glued to Yunho, because apparently, not only had Yunho not told San that he knew Mingi, but also that Mingi was one of his closest friends. San was still questioning how they had never met before, especially after Yunho told him that they had met all the way back in freshman year.

On the other hand, San had now also had the pleasure of meeting Mingi without their friend group, when Wooyoung and Yeosang invited him to study with them at the library before ditching him with Mingi for one made-up reason or another (San knew they were fucking with him, because he followed their Instagram accounts, and suspiciously every time they fled to „do an assignment“, one or the other posted a picture of some café or other). It was fine, since San actually enjoyed studying side by side with Mingi, when Wooyoung and Yeosang weren't there to stir up trouble or the three of them discussing some form of mathematical concept that gave San headaches by only hearing its name.

„Who the fuck is Boole?“ San asked once he glanced at the book lying in front of Mingi. Yeosang and Wooyoung had taken up so much space on the other side of the table that San sat next to Mingi, and now that they had left, he thought it would look weird if he stood up to sit on the other side of the table. He didn't want Mingi to feel offended.

„Some English mathematician. He invented this binary algebra stuff where the value's always either true or false, or one or zero. It's the numeric systems all computers run on,“ Mingi explained without even looking up from where he was scribbling indecipherable notes in his notebook. For a few weeks now, Mingi's wardrobe had slowly turned to what San considered more average. He assumed it was due to the very cold winter that Mingi opted for big and soft hoodies instead of shirts that showed off his entire torso.

„Forget I even asked,“ San muttered, opening his laptop to work on his own assignment on draping haute couture. After all, he got out of his dorm today to actually be productive, Wooyoung and Yeosang be damned.

About twenty minutes in, Mingi groaned, throwing his head back and going completely limp in his chair. For a second, San was scared that the other had died or something, but Mingi just stared at the ceiling for a minute before his head lolled sideways so he could look at San.

„Let's get out of here,“ Mingi whispered in a conspirational tone.

*

Opposite to popular belief, San wasn't a party-goer. He didn't particularly like booze, or the heaps of drunk people. He usually avoided them, especially the big elaborate parties the students from his faculty threw, which often ended in at least three students getting an official warning from the faculty dean. So when Yunho had asked him to join the party some dance majors were throwing, he wanted to say no. Yeosang flat out said no before Yunho was even finished speaking, and San should've seconded that. He really, really should have.

Instead, he was so distracted by the way Mingi had decided to wear a pastel coloured cardigan with nothing underneath it that he just said „sure“. He even missed the surprised look Yunho and Hongjoong shared.

„You gonna join us too, Mingi?“

„Sure, I'm always down to party,“ Mingi said easily, taking a sip of his strawberry milkshake. That made San snap out of his daze, the realization that he had just agreed to attend a party, one that Mingi also attended, almost giving him whiplash. He was so screwed.

„You brought that upon yourself,“ Yeosang said with an evil cackle. San huffed at him and tried to kick the other's leg under the table, instead hitting Wooyoung, who yelled out loudly.

„What the fuck, I didn't do anything?!“ Wooyoung screeched, hand swatting at Yeosang's head. Served him right. Yeosang said

„You're always guilty of something“

*

„Didn't think you'd come for real!“ Wooyoung yelled at him the second San entered the premise, obviously already halfway drunk, leopard print shirt only held close by two lone buttons at the bottom. „I tried to convince Yeosang-ie, since you and Jongho and Hwa-hyungie are here too, but he didn't let me drag him here.“

„I completely get why,“ San said as he let Wooyoung wrap his arm around his neck and guiding him inside, where even more drunk people were. Jongho stood among some people San recognized as friends from his scenery classes.

„Don't be mean, I'm a delight!“ Wooyoung continued, momentarily tightening his arm around San's neck as if he was actually upset over San's words. They had started getting along real well since they met, much to Seonghwa's horror.

„You said hyung's here too?“ San asked, craning his neck as much as he could. He caught a glimpse of Hongjoong with a red cup in his hand. For a chance, his hyung wasn't wearing a hoodie that would be too big for even Yunho, but a glittering jacket and a black choker. Next to him stood a tall person with their back to San, with bright red hair. San had to make sure to tell the guy he was dope, because „unnatural hair colours“ weren't what the school understood as proper dress code and whoever had the balls to dye their hair bright red deserved all the compliments.

„Oh, yeah, somewhere in the back, probably making out with Yunho, gross PDA couple they are,“ Wooyoung said, waving off somewhere into the distance. He was proven wrong a second later when they found Yunho dancing with some of his friends in the middle of the room. He looked great in the white shirt and red jacket San had almost had to force him into. Seonghwa waved at them from his perch on a counter top, his hair all over the place. He had definitely made out with Yunho before San had arrived. San beamed when they reached Seonghwa, glad to actually have someone else to rely on instead of having to stick with Wooyoung, who was already half across the room once he had deposited San, making a beeline for the dancing group of people.

„Hyung, I don't want to be here,“ San immediately complained, moving in between Seonghwa's legs to hug the older, who laughed into his ear.

„Getting out and getting to know people is a good thing, Sannie. Make friends!“ Seonghwa yelled over the music, smile easy and comfortable.

„But not with people,“ San continued, hopping up to sit on the counter top next to Seonghwa, who kept his eyes close onto the dance floor and Yunho, San assumed. Seonghwa reached up to mess with San's carefully styled hair, and San barely avoided falling off the counter top again in his attempt to avoid Seonghwa's hand.

„Pretty shirt you're wearing,“ Seonghwa said and San preened with the compliment. It had taken forever to find this specific shirt (white lace, no sleeves, barely fitting for the season, but he looked hot), and he was very satisfied with the achieved look.

„Didn't Mingi say he's always down to party?“ San asked over the noise the group near the sound system made, as they fought over which song to play next. Wooyoung very loudly insisted on Toxic by Britney Spears. Seonghwa nodded and waved to the entrance area where Wooyoung and San had come through a minute or two earlier.

„Yeah, he's there somewhere, chatting with a few of his nerd-friends.“

„You're a teacher, you _are_ one of his nerd friends“

„Don't be a dick, San-ah, I am still older than you.“

San snickered and pecked Seonghwa's cheek. „Sorry, hyung“

Seonghwa patted his leg. Wooyoung screeched and waved frantically at the doorway, where Hongjoong and Mingi entered.

San blinked.

Then he blinked again.

He was so stunned into silence that Seonghwa next to him almost spit out his drink in a heap of laughter.

Mingi was the tall dude with the bright red hair San had seen when they had passed Hongjoong. Mingi was also wearing a jeans skirt, and San did not know what to do. Seonghwa patted his back in sympathy.

„Yunho told me it was bad, but I would've never pegged you for being this big of a panicked gay kid,“ he laughed. San grabbed onto Seonghwa's upper arm to tether himself to this reality, because he was quite sure his soul had separated from his body and was on its way to the afterlife.

„Excuse me, hyung, have you seen the way he dresses? I am literally powerless against that! Is he- Is he wearing a see-through shirt?“

The last part may have been a bit too loud, his fingernails digging into Seonghwa's arm.

„I'm going to die today,“ San whispered, mortified as Mingi's eyes found his and the maths major beamed at him. „Tell Yunho that it was me that ate his snacks, and that I'm not even sorry because they were delicious“

„We're going to get „Heart Attack Due to Jeans Skirt“ written on a plaque for you,“ Seonghwa said as his free hand came up to slowly trying to get San's clammy fingers off his forearm before San could inflict any serious damage.

„Thanks, hyung, I appreciate it,“ San whispered, eyes still fucking stuck on Mingi who was laughing at something Yunho said and slapped his shoulder.

*

Frankly, San did not know how he had ended up in a game of gay chicken, but he was there, and he didn't like it. Especially not how he ended up going up against a fairly drunk Mingi who had been giggly and touchy all night, hanging off whoever came too close to him. San may have been the preferred person to lean on for the better part of an hour now. Not that he hadn't tried to flee, he had, but whenever he had thought he had successfully gotten rid of Mingi, Seonghwa or Yunho or even Jongho (traitor) caught him trying to sneak away and led him right back into Mingi's near surroundings. His heart was having a heart time, and San swore revenge on all his fake-friends that wished death upon him.

It got even worse now that Mingi was so set on winning every single game. And apparently, San had been chosen as the least likely to loose against Mingi by the vast majority of people in the room, most of which he didn't even know. Otherwise, they wouldn't have chosen him, he knew. He was the ultimate gay chicken, and should Mingi actually get too close to him, he might faint. Yunho and Jongho had shared a very elaborate laugh on his behalf.

Mingi placed his hand against the side of San's face, and San _knew_ that he would faint. He just hoped Wooyoung or Jongho were there to catch him. He didn't want his shirt to get ruined by all the spilled alcohol on the floor. On the other hand, as Mingi stepped closer and his hand slid underneath San's chin to lift his face a bit, the floor sounded like a good option too. His heart was beating so fast and hard that he was sure Mingi could hear it even over the blaring music. He took a step back, and Mingi followed, moving closer.

San tried his best to keep a straight face, to not give up this easily, but in the end, he had to give up. When Mingi's gaze wandered from his eyes to his lips, San was done. He didn't think he could handle it any more. His knees almost gave out when he tried to duck away, and he had to actually grab Mingi's hip to keep from completely falling over.

The crowd ooh-ed, and San briefly fanned his face before showing them that he, in fact, gave up, which made Mingi the winner of this round too. Yunho laughed as he slung his arm around San's shoulders, and Jongho clapped as if this had been the best performance he had seen all his life. Mingi grinned and high-fived Wooyoung. San hated his friends. He needed new ones immediately. In fact, he would go and make friends right now, and if just to avoid thinking about the way Mingi's gaze had stuck to his lips.

*

„'m not gonna lie,“ Wooyoung drawled as he staggered. San could barely grab his arm fast enough to save him from face-planting on the building's stairs. Yunho had told San in no uncertain terms that he shouldn't come back to their shared dorm room tonight, and San was definitely going to steal Seonghwa's bed.

„Not gonna lie,“ Wooyoung repeated when he regained his balance a bit and they continued their way to the elevator. „Really thought you'd let Mingi kiss you. You've been in love for months now, and I know for a fact that man's wanted to kiss you“

San didn't answer, but manoeuvred Wooyoung into the elevator before rifling through the other's pants in search for the dorm key. He came up empty. Wooyoung patted his arm, and when they reached their floor, he just kicked against the door of the dorm he shared with Seonghwa. San frowned. Seonghwa was most definitely at Yunho's. If he wasn't, San would definitely have to tell Seonghwa that San had been sexiled by Seonghwa's boyfriend which was very unusual considering he was going to say that to Seonghwa. But San didn't think Yunho was the cheating type. He was way too in love with Seonghwa for that.

It wasn't Seonghwa that opened the dorm room, thank god. Instead, they were faced with a grumpy looking Yeosang with his hair all over the place, in a very cute pyjama with pink and white stripes. San didn't know anyone that actually wore matching pyjamas.

„For the love of all that is holy, if you keep doing this I will throw you out the window,“ Yeosang hissed, but let them in anyway, locking the door behind them.

„You wouldn't,“ Wooyoung gasped. San had assumed Wooyoung was the one rooming with Seonghwa, but he wasn't too sure any more. Did Seonghwa even live here? Was he about to steal not Seonghwa's, but Yeosang's bed? Was he going to be sexiled from this room too and would need to go and beg Jongho to let him sleep in his room?

„Go wash off your make-up, you absolute heathen,“ Yeosang said as Wooyoung was making his way towards the beds. The one on the right obviously was the one Yeosang had slept in before Wooyoung had woken him up, the one on the left so neatly made that it had to belong to Seonghwa.

„You too, hyung will murder you if you get make-up on his bedsheets,“ Yeosang said with a glance at San. „I'll find you something to wear.“

„My point still stands,“ Wooyoung called from the bathroom, mouth full of toothpaste foam. „Get your shit together, Choi San and kiss the man!“

San ignored him, but readily took the blue and white striped pyjamas Yeosang offered him.

Sometime an hour or two later, San woke up because Wooyoung snatched the pillow out of his arms and replaced it with his own body.

„Sang-ie kicked me out of the bed,“ Wooyoung whined sleepily, before he fell asleep again. San mentally shrugged. If Yeosang flipped out tomorrow because his boyfriend was cuddling with San, then it wasn't on him, but on Wooyoung. Maybe he pulled through on his promise of yeeting Wooyoung out of the window.

*

Yeosang didn't flip out when he rolled out of bed at six thirty in the morning, which was way too early for San's books. He actually laughed so loud at San's question that he woke Wooyoung up. Apparently, Wooyoung and Yeosang weren't dating, which was news to San, if he was honest. He had pegged them to be high school sweethearts that made it all the way to college. Yeosang gagged. Wooyoung sounded way too offended at the prospect of dating Yeosang.

„You know what, that's none of my business, and frankly, I don't care either,“ San muttered. „Can you guys give me Mingi's room number, I gotta talk to him about something.“

Wooyoung was about to say something, but instead, Yeosang opened the blinds and Wooyoung screeched like a vampire burning to death, burying himself underneath Seonghwa's pillow.

„Room 385,“ Yeosang whispered through Wooyoung's pleads to please close the fucking blinds again. „But you'd better first go shower and brush your teeth.“

*

San heeded to Yeosang's advice, and that's why it was seven ten am instead of six thirty when he stood in front of room 385. Yunho and Seonghwa hadn't even woken up from where they laid entangled on Yunho's bed, not even when San accidentally knocked over a stack of Mingi's mathematics books the other had left the last time they had studied in San's dorm.

Today, he would tell Mingi, regardless of outcome. His heart couldn't take it if the teasing continued on like the day before and Mingi didn't mean it. San wasn't confident that Mingi actually liked him, but he knew for a fact that Mingi had stared at his lips. Maybe it was in a drunk stupor, but Wooyoung had been blackout drunk and he hadn't even looked in the direction of anyone's lips.

When the door opened, he was face to face with Mingi, wearing a grey shirt at least the size XXXL, fire red hair sticking up in every direction, but pressed flat on the left side of his head. His shorts barely peeked out beneath the hem of the shirt. Mingi squinted at him for a moment.

„San-ah,“ he said, slightly confused and voice deep and raspy with sleep. God, did he sound hot.

„Hi,“ San said, and he seriously thought about just bolting. Before he could, he continued „I need to talk to you.“

„Sure,“ Mingi said, letting San into the room. It was messy, with clothes strewn all over what San assumed to be Mingi's half, books stacked precariously on the desk. Mingi disappeared into the bathroom and emerged with a toothbrush in his mouth to kick his room mates bed.

„Get out,“ he said when the room mate opened one eye to look at him with a sneer.

„Get out yourself, bitch,“ the dude muttered and rolled over. Mingi frowned at him. San was about to say something, that what he had wanted to talk about wasn't so important, that they could talk about it later or never, but Mingi just kicked the bed again.

“Get the fuck out,” he hissed past his toothbrush. “Or someone will find out what you're up to in the middle of the night!”

The room mate turned around, face appalled.

“You wouldn't-”

“Try me, bitch,” Mingi interrupted, then gestured at the door. The room mate got up, gathered his bag, and glowered at Mingi all the way to the door.

“Bitch,” he hissed.

“Assface,” Mingi hissed back, and then the door closed behind him. San was a bit lost at the exchange, and when Mingi came back from the bathroom, he asked what the other had been doing in the middle of the night that it would make him evacuate the room. Mingi shrugged.

“Fuck if I know, but apparently _something_ ,” the other muttered before he sat down on his bed, rubbing his hand over his face. His hair looked more humane now after he had patted it down while brushing his teeth.

“What did you want to talk about?”

“Uh...” San said, suddenly very unsure. Mingi yawned, and patted the space next to him, but San would rather stand, so he could make a quick exit once this backfired like he expected it to. The other looked up at him through his fringe, waiting for San to start speaking.

“Is this about yesterday? I'm sorry if I overstepped, I-” Mingi suddenly started when San had been searching for words for a good five minutes.

“Kiss me,” San blurted out. Mingi stuttered to a halt, face slack in surprise. San hadn't known he would say that either, and now he desperately wished he hadn't. Would Mingi believe him if San laughed now, telling him it had been a joke to shut his annoying ass up? Or could Mingi see straight through him?

“Say that again,” Mingi prompted, his face unreadable. He wouldn't hit San, would he? Mingi didn't have a problem with Seonghwa and Yunho dating, but maybe it was different when a man was having a crush on him?

Here goes nothing, he thought, and said, again,

“Kiss me.”

Or he tried, but before he even got to finish, Mingi leapt up, his hands shooting forward to cradle San's face and their lips crashing together way too quick. San didn't know how to react, so he just closed his eyes and pressed closer. Mingi's hands very cold and clammy against San's cheeks.

When Mingi pulled back, San followed, hands twisting in the shirt against Mingi's stomach. He barely kept back a whine. Mingi grinned like a thousand watt lightbulb, almost blinding San for a second. He blinked, and then, Mingi kissed him again.

“Who do I owe money to,” Mingi asked when he pulled back again, and San had chased his lips again. “Is it Yeosang or Wooyoung who made you get your shit together?”

“I'm offended that you don't even consider the possibility of me getting my shit together on my own,” San answers, watching as Mingi sprawls out on his bed with a goofy grin on his face.

“No offence, but I've been trying to get you to kiss me for half a year now with no progress. There's no way you would've come here without a push.”

San huffed and reached out to slap Mingi, who just grabbed his wrist and pulled until San toppled over, on top of Mingi. Mingi squeaked when San bit his shoulder instead. San's heart may have been doing somersaults, and a smile sneaked onto his face.

“Wooyoung may have said something about how he knew you had been trying to kiss me, so I decided this wasn't completely one-sided.”

“One-sided my ass,” Mingi grunted. “The only reason I dress like I do is so you would finally notice me.”

Mingi's hands came up to cup San's face and manoeuvrer him to look into Mingi's eyes.

“I am destined to be a couch potato, do you know how exhausting it is too dress like that?” he asked in the most serious and appalled tone. Dramatic little shit.

San giggled, pecking Mingi again because he could, before Mingi's words sank in.

“Wait, you dress like that for the sole purpose of making me fall for you?!”

**Author's Note:**

> So, there's this video of [Mingi in a jeans skirt](https://twitter.com/MINGIPOP/status/1185851699744923648) and it hasn't let me go since I saw it. Literally 70% of the reason for this fic.  
> Also, San tries to be a confident gay, but chickens out whenever one of his members retaliate, that's just facts and the other 30% of this story's inspiration.
> 
> Talk to me on [tumblr](https://thecaptainofthisfleet.tumblr.com), I want more friends.


End file.
